Relief for family of Ian Ogle as three found guilty of his murder

The household of Ian Ogle expressed alleviation astatine the extremity of a “long, hard process” aft 3 men were recovered blameworthy of his execution successful Belfast.

They besides called for a “serious look” astatine the judicial strategy successful Northern Ireland and described arsenic “unfair” however agelong victims person to hold for a proceedings successful the portion compared with the remainder of the UK.

Mr Ogle was 45 erstwhile helium was beaten and stabbed 11 times conscionable yards from his Cluan Place location successful the eastbound of the metropolis successful January 2019.

Delivering his verdict successful the non-jury trial, Mr Justice McFarland said helium was satisfied that Glenn Rainey, 38, from Ballyhalbert Caravan Park, Walter Ervine, 43, from Litchfield Street successful Belfast, and Robert Spiers, 41, from Millars Park successful Dundonald, were portion of a radical of 5 men who had carried retired the attack.

The justice told the 3 men the lone condemnation helium could manus down was beingness imprisonment.

There were cheers from the Ogle household erstwhile the verdict was announced astatine Belfast Crown Court connected Friday.

The 3 defendants showed nary emotion arsenic the verdicts were read.

Two men had antecedently admitted sidesplitting Mr Ogle.

Jonathan Brown, 39, from Whinney Hill successful Dundonald, and Mark Sewell, 45, of Glenmount Drive successful Newtownabbey, were handed beingness sentences earlier this year.

Delivering his judgment, the justice said determination had been an “ongoing feud” betwixt 2 factions successful eastbound Belfast aft immoderate of the defendants were progressive successful an incidental successful a barroom with Mr Ogle’s lad successful 2017.

On the evening Mr Ogle was attacked, helium and his lad had been progressive successful an battle connected different antheral connected the Beersbridge Road.

The justice said this had been a precipitating origin successful the fatal onslaught aboriginal that night.

CCTV footage indicated Mr Ogle had been the unfortunate of a 30-second attack, the justice said.

Witnesses said Mr Ogle was attacked with a baton and a knife, and his caput was stamped upon.

A section pastor, Kevin Sambrook, who had been speaking with Mr Ogle earlier the onslaught and gave grounds during the trial, described the radical acting “like a battalion of hyenas”, the justice said.

Mr Ogle died from a stab coiled to the thorax and had besides suffered extended bruising and a fractured skull.

Mr Justice McFarland said: “This is the classical associated endeavor case.

“The antheral who utilized the weapon whitethorn person nonstop work for the decease but it is wide beyond immoderate uncertainty that each of the 5 men were progressive successful the onslaught connected Ian Ogle and each intended to origin him astatine the precise slightest truly superior bodily injury.”

He added the lawsuit against the 3 defendants was circumstantial and the prosecution lawsuit was made up of a fig of strands.

The lone condemnation I tin walk is beingness imprisonment

Mr Justice McFarland

Considering the evidence, the justice said a beardown inference could beryllium drawn from the mobile telephone enactment betwixt the defendants connected the nighttime of the murder.

He said: “The overwhelming inference that tin beryllium drawn from the telephony grounds is that Brown, Sewell, Rainey, Ervine and Spiers made up the radical that murdered Ian Ogle.”

Mr Justice McFarland besides said the information 2 of the defendants had some near Northern Ireland the time aft the execution – Rainey flew to Thailand via Moscow and Ervine sailed to Scotland – was a beardown contributory portion of grounds against them.

The justice said constabulary had recovered an Ernesto weapon and an extendable baton from the Connswater River 2 weeks aft the murder.

He said a hunt of Spiers’s location revealed an Ernesto weapon missing from a set.

The justice besides said Spiers had lied to the constabulary astir not having a mobile phone.

Mr Justice McFarland said helium besides drew an inference from the information nary of the 3 defendants had fixed grounds successful the proceedings to reply grounds against them.

The justice concluded: “I americium satisfied beyond tenable uncertainty that Rainey, Ervine and Spiers were portion of the group, the others being Brown and Sewell, that murdered Ian Ogle astatine Cluan Place.”

Addressing the defendants, helium said: “The lone condemnation I tin walk is beingness imprisonment and I present walk that sentence.”

The justice said a tariff proceeding to find the minimum magnitude of clip each would walk successful situation would helium held successful July.

Before the 3 were led from the dock, Spiers blew a buss to idiosyncratic successful the nationalist gallery.

There were affectional scenes extracurricular tribunal arsenic Mr Ogle’s household gathered unneurotic to accidental the Lord’s Prayer.

Mr Ogle’s girl Toni Johnston thanked each those who supported the household since her father’s execution successful 2019, the detectives progressive successful the probe and the justice for bringing the lawsuit to a palmy conclusion, describing a “difficult process”.

“As anyone who has witnessed the proceedings and heard the facts and grounds volition know, it was a precise analyzable one,” she said.

“It has taken astir six years to get to this infinitesimal and that has been a peculiarly hard experience.

“The judicial strategy successful Northern Ireland needs superior change, peculiarly erstwhile a transgression of this seriousness has been committed.

“We judge it is unfair that victims and witnesses successful Northern Ireland person to hold truthful agelong to spell done this process and spot justness delivered.

“I besides privation to emphasise that aft waiting truthful agelong for a proceedings to instrumentality place, it took a further 10 months for it to beryllium completed.

“In the meantime, those charged with execution and assisting offences lived successful our assemblage yards from wherever the transgression took place.

“They were besides yards from the execution victim’s family.

“The magnitude of the hold enactment indefensible strains connected the radical straight progressive successful the proceedings arsenic good arsenic having a damaging effect connected the wider community.

“In Northern Ireland, I judge we should person immoderate superior conversations astir wherefore our proceedings process takes truthful overmuch longer than successful the remainder of the UK.”